Cash Wilcke returns to the lineup for his senior season. He has been so close to placing the last three years at the NCAA’s. As a freshman and sophomore Wilcke wrestled at 197 and made it to the Round of 12 at Nationals, aka The Blood Round.
Last season Wilcke, from Battle Creek, Iowa (OA-BCIG High School) moved down to 184 and had a solid year with a 23-8 record with two pins and five major decisions. Of the eight losses, seven were to a wrestler ranked in the top nine in the country. Of those seven losses, six were by three points or less. The best win of the season for Wilcke was a 4-1 decision over then #4 ranked Taylor Venz of Nebraska. After placing fifth at Big Tens, Wilcke was eliminated at Nationals in the Round of 16.
For the fourth year in a row I will say that Wilcke is the best athlete on the team. This guy has a lot of athletic ability. Quickness, balance, strength, endurance, he has it all. It has always been a matter of Wilcke pulling the trigger on his shots and being more offensive.
At the preseason matches on Friday, Wilcke defeated true freshman Abe Assad 3-2, TB1. I was not surprised by this result. I am very high on Assad and he has a great future for the Hawks.
Throughout the entire off-season I have thought that redshirt freshman Nelson Brands would go up to 184 and challenge for the varsity spot. Brands has a ton of potential. As a fan I would like to see a Wilcke-Brands match in competition. That would be a very close match. We could see Wilcke, Brands, and Assad all compete at 184 at Midlands. Time will tell.
Cash Wilcke is the favorite at this time, but he will be pushed for the starting spot in the lineup at 184. For Iowa to win the team title, points at 184 are needed at Nationals. I am confident that Iowa will be well represented at 184 at Big Tens and Nationals.
2019 NCAA Championships – Cash Wilcke (23-8) scored 2.5 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by decision over Nick Gravina (Rutgers)(Dec 3-2)
- Champ. Round 2 – Maxwell Dean (Cornell) won in sudden victory – 1 over Cash Wilcke (Iowa) (SV-1 6-4)
- Cons. Round 2 – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by major decision over Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) (MD 8-0)
- Cons. Round 3 – Emery Parker (Illinois) won by fall over Cash Wilcke (Iowa) (Fall 5:23)
2019 Big Ten Championships
- Champ. Round 1 – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by decision over Brandon Krone (Minnesota) (Dec 2-1)
- Quarterfinal – Emery Parker (Illinois) won by decision over Cash Wilcke (Iowa) (Dec 3-2)
- Cons. Round 2 – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by decision over Norman Conley (Indiana) (Dec 5-2)
- Cons. Round 3 – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by decision over Max Lyon (Purdue) (Dec 8-3)
- Cons. Semi – Tyler Venz (Nebraska) 21-7 won by decision over Cash Wilcke (Iowa) 21-6 (Dec 6-4)
- 5th Place Match – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over Nick Gravina (Rutgers) (M. For.)
184 lbs. Rankings by TrackWrestling on October 15
- Zahid Valencia – Arizona State, Sr
- Ben Darmstadt – Cornell, Jr
- Taylor Venz – Nebraska, Jr
- Dakota Greer – Oklahoma State, Jr
- Shakur Rasheed – Penn State, Sr
- Taylor Lujan – Northern Iowa, Sr
- Nino Bonaccorsi – Pittsburgh, So
- Samuel Colbray – Iowa State, Jr
- Lou Deprez – Binghampton, So
- Cash Wilcke – Iowa, Sr
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
